Monday, 1 June 2009

Here's an interesting piece of news from the States, discovered strangely enough, via a website named Taiwan News (although it does appear to have come from AP). The Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee pulled out of hosting a conference on "Understanding the Jihad in Israel, Europe and America" this past weekend due to security fears. The conference was due to be held by right-wing US journal New English Review, with the controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders appearing as the star guest, alongside a selection of US opponents of Islam (you can see the full event programme online, which should give you an idea of event's political leanings – it's unlikely Wilders will have felt out of place).

It seems that concerns over security prompted the hotel to cancel the event, with manager Tom Negri telling local newspaperThe Tennessean"We canceled the group for both the safety and the health of our guests and employees here at Vanderbilt hotel", while choosing not to elaborate any further. The journal's editor, Rebecca Bynum, has hit back at the hotel, saying "We find it interesting that even without a specific threat that the fear of violence is so great that they would decide to cancel our event." Meanwhile, a message appeared on the online conference programme stating:

New English Review's first annual symposium, “Understanding the Jihad in Israel, Europe and America," will be held at an secure, undisclosed location. Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel succumbed to intimidation and cancelled hosting our event. Nothing else has changed.